Department of Justice to Handle Election Fraud and Voting Rights Abuse Complaints
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 28, 2010 |
DENVER—United States Attorney John Walsh announced today that in connection with a nationwide Department of Justice Election Day Program, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Thomas O’Rourke will lead efforts to handle voter complaints for the upcoming November 2, 2010 general elections. AUSA O’Rourke serves as the District Election Officer for the District of Colorado, and in that capacity, is responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
United States Attorney Walsh said, “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud. The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”
Eight years ago, former Attorney General John Ashcroft established a department-wide Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative. The goals of this ongoing initiative are to increase the department’s ability to deter election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and to prosecute these offenses whenever and wherever they occur. The department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 2, 2010, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney Walsh stated that Assistant United States Attorney O’Rourke will be on duty in this district while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: 303-454-0209.
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The FBI can be reached by the public at 303-629-7171.
Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767. United States Attorney Walsh said, “The effectiveness of our Election Day Program depends in large part on the watchfulness and cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”